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Journalism of Courage
Indias 32-year wait to feature in the womens hockey Olympics just got a bit longer after they lost 3-1 against South Africa in the finals of the qualifiers. South Africa,who had to qualify for the London Olympics all over again after having conceded their initial quota to Argentina,scored through Shelley Russell fourth minute,Pietie Coetzee 30th and Marsha Marescia 53rd while India pulled one back through a PC conversion from Jaspreet Kaur 57th.
India were clearly the lesser side,with the poor finishing and defensive lapses from early on in the tournament continuing to haunt the team in the final. India ceded the advantage early in the match when Ritu Rani failed to stop a harmless back pass. While such an error may have escaped penalty against the weaker opponents,there was no leniency here. Running from the centre of the pitch,Shelly Russell pounced on the opportunity,and slotted home. Pietie Coetzee,playing despite not having completely recovered from the bout of viral fever that had swept the South African camp,made it 2-0 five minutes from half time. The penalty corner specialist who had already missed two opportunities,converted her third,firing past Yogita Bali who dived late to her left.
However,South African captain Marsha Marescia countered whatever India threw at her. While earlier she had been creative in the midfield,feeding balls to the front,she now switched effortlessly to defence. Indias attacks were also betrayed by a lack of cohesion. While they would penetrate the South African circle,further advancement was halted.
On other times they would hit the ball long,and hope to find a favourable deflection. Despite the ball consistently finding its way in their half,South Africans defence was always in control as they conceded just two penalty corners through the course of the match. Its not something I do regularly. But the Indians were coming very strong in the second half. I needed to be able to control the game and I needed to have some time to make my decisions. In games like this,it isnt the goal scoring ability that determines victory but whether you can consolidate defensively, she would say,between coughs,after the match.
Killer blow
Holding the line inside the 25m circle when her team needed her,Marescia bid her time. When the opportunity arose,she put the game beyond Indias reach through a penalty corner in the 53rd minute. Right after a scramble which saw Coetzes shot hit the post,the South African skippers PC conversion ensured the near miss would not last long. The Indians would get one back when Jasjeet Kaur converted a short corner but despite the crowds exhortations,that would prove consolatory. Indeed as the minutes ticked away,Coach CR Kumar would stand arms crossed as he watched India Olympic dream slip away.
Other results: Italy bt Ukraine 2-1 for bronze; Canada bt Poland 3-0 for fifth place.
